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MP3 Player Microdrive Maker Cornice Countersues Rival Seagate

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 20, 2004 - 2:11am.
Longmont, Colo. -- Cornice, a maker of miniature hard drives used in consumer electronics like MP3 players, announced that it has countersued rival Seagate Technology in response to a patent infringement claim filed against Cornice in June. The Seagate suit alleged that Cornice is infringing on six Seagate hard drive patents, and asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban imports of the Cornice drives into the U.S. In its counterclaims, Colorado-based Cornice asked the Delaware District Court to invalidate Seagate's patents, and furthermore said that Seagate's lawsuit is baseless and anti-competitive, entitling Cornice to unspecified damages. Cornice's microdrives are used in MP3 players made by Rio and iRiver. Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Seagate in June released a 1-inch, 5GB hard drive that it is targeting at the market for portable music players.
tags: Cornice | MP3 Player | Microdrive | Rival Seagate |

Hitachi to Increase Production of Microdrive Used in Portable Music Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 17, 2004 - 1:49am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Japanese electronics firm Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies unit announced on Monday that it will increase production of its 4GB Microdrive product, the miniature hard disk drive used in digital music players like Apple's iPod Mini, as well as digital cameras, PDAs and other devices. The company's Thailand plant will begin producing 2 million drives per quarter, up from the current 200,000, as a result of shortages that led Apple to delay the global sales launch for the iPod Mini.
tags: Portable | Hitachi | Microdrive | Music Players |

Microdrive Developer Cornice Raises $51 Million in Second Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:47am.
Longmont, Colo. -- Cornice, a developer of small hard disk drives for consumer electronics like MP3 players, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $51 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Participating in the round were new investors BA Venture Partners and GIC Special Investments, as well as previous investors CIBC Capital Partners, Nokia Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. Colorado-based Cornice offers 1.5GB and 2GB disks that are one-inch in diameter, and have been used in MP3 players and other devices from consumer electronics firms including Philips and Samsung. The company, which has raised $81 million to date, will use the new funds to support sales, development and manufacturing initiatives.
tags: VC | Second Round | Cornice | Microdrive |